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I wear a tshirt when nothing else is available a level of dignity that comes from years of tradition. I don't work out of uniform lightly cause I respect where it come from. And I promise you when it is at its hottest in the summer a chef coast is more breathable and cooler than a shirt

Jeans and a tshirt(monogrammed with our bitchin logo). I wear an apron up bistro style if I'm feeling fancy. If you want to impress- shave and keep your hair well groomed. I'm covered in tats(down to my knucks), and I get better response by far when I'm dressed down a little, than when I've been sporting the double breasted, knot buttoned, full sleeve coat. If you look comfortable, and confident, that will instantly elevate people's opinions of you(typically without them even knowing it).

The AI does not love you, nor does it hate you, but you are made out of atoms it might find useful for something else. - Eliezer Yudkowsky

Charlotte, NC AKA The Queen City! The lint-filled belly button of the south.

Posts

2,995

Nothin' but jackets here. The short-sleeve ones ore decent, the ones with the breathable back are just OK. I'm so used to a full-sleeve coat that I just feel like a scrub in anything else. Old habits die hard.

"See... the problem here is that... my little brother, this morning, got his arm caught in the microwave, and uh... my grandmother dropped acid and she freaked out, and hijacked a school bus full of... penguins, so it's kind of a family crisis... so come back later? Great."
-Lane Myer (Definitely not as in Oscar Mayer)

I'd always worn jackets in the past , when I came to Cairns ( a very tropical place ) I switched to a black T shirt ,chef pants and blue pin stripe bib apron.
Most places in town seem to be fine with that, it's a little cooler than the standard jacket.

Jackets all day long with the exception of the sweltering hot days. Then it's t-shirts during prep and back to chef coat during service. I firmly believe in image. Whatever you choose, it should be clean. Working in kitchens it's no excuse for sloppiness. You can have 3 "stars" (or whatever) all day long, but if you can't keep your clothes clean, f*ck your reviews. That's a direct result of carelessness and lack of talent. I can't trust food served by a filthy, careless pig.

This comes from a guy with no tats, piercings or any of today's hipness. For me it's always been about the product first, staff second. I say staff second because I really don't mind all the tats, and some days I'm down right envious. But I've had more than my fair share of tatted up idiots in worn out denim come into my kitchens thinking they were something big and trendy to today's standards. Yet they couldn't produce sh*t. I will applaud their hardcore belief in image as it equals mine, but c'mon, you gotta give more.

So, I hate to say it but in my kitchen under my hoods, it's black or grey chef pants, and white, gray or black chef coats only. If it's t-shirt time, then PLAIN white or black only. And of course black non slip shoes only. You want to express yourself and show the uncaring world just how cool you really are? Throw on some groovy socks- like the rest of the world I could care less. The time to express yourself on the clock is through your food, the art medium you chose to make a living with. Off the clock, go crazy with your chains and fedoras. I for one wish that the fedora makes a strong comeback because I still struggle from time to time with the confidence it takes to wear any of mine.

I should also add that I get kids in perfectly pressed chef coat and pants who also can't perform worth a smack. But that is a very rare occasion comparatively. Typically if you care enough to press that shirt, you care about something else as well.

Meh. Chef coats and pants are from a bygone era IMO. It's like the Michelin system, charging too much for too much staff to maintain 'appearances'. Having tattoos and wearing jeans in a kitchen has nothing to do with trying to impress people, it's not giving a **** about what people think of you and letting the food speak for itself. The cookie cutter cult of personality thing has run rampant in our society. Btw- I'm not saying you should show up looking like you came off a two week bender, but as long as your clothes are clean, you're wearing proper footwear, keep your hair covered if it's long...

The food is all that matters.

The AI does not love you, nor does it hate you, but you are made out of atoms it might find useful for something else. - Eliezer Yudkowsky